At this time of year, it’s common to see platforms and production houses make announcements of their plans and focuses for the upcoming New Year. Peacock, which occupies an unenviable position where it’s a little too small to play in the big leagues, but doing better than other smaller streamers, has announced some changes to its 2023 development strategies. Brandon Blake, entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A, fills us in.
Considerable Change to Date
With the pandemic rather forcing the infant streamer’s hand, Peacock launched with a slate mostly comprised of original comedies and repurposed dramas from NBCUniversal’s linear networks. Interestingly, none of these shows are still on the platform.
And now 2023 will be the first year we see a full slate of originals for the streamer. They’re shifting their focus to eventized series, especially in the drama niche, while retaining so-called ‘bingeable’ comedies. True Crime, a genre that’s risen in popularity alongside the booming podcast trend, will also feature heavily. Celebrity-driven shows and docu-series will round out their unscripted offerings.
Changed Balance
This is likely indicative of the fact that their original comedy series haven’t really built market traction. The new strategy brings about 67% of development focus onto dramas, based on feedback from their increased user base and engagement.
While not yet able to compare itself to market leaders like Disney or Netflix, Peacock has had a very good year. They’ve more than doubled their paid subscriber base, ending the year at 18M, and have 30M monthly active accounts on the platform. Weekly engagement sits at 20 hours. They’ve also managed to make inroads into live event broadcasting, and pulled some popular films, alongside some solid content deals. We’ve even seen them inch into Nielsen’s ratings for the first time.
Will the next Rings of Power, House of the Dragon, or Stranger Things spring from Peacock? They certainly seem to think so.
Film and Television 